LinkedIn Top Startups 2021: The companies on the rise in Europe

The 2021 LinkedIn Top Startups list reveals young, emerging companies across 11 European markets that are hiring and where people want to work now. ?Is joining a startup a career option for you? Share your thoughts with your network.

Over the past year and a half, professionals across the world have been pushed to re-evaluate the way they live and work in the wake of the pandemic. With economic recovery starting to happen at different paces across industries, many professionals are looking for something new, asking themselves: “What’s next?”?

Startups are a natural place to look to for new ideas and innovation. And our LinkedIn Top Startups list, which covers 11 European markets this year, is the resource to find the startups you should be paying attention to right now. It reflects companies that have continued to attract investment, employees and attention in 2021.?

To put together this year’s rankings, we looked at LinkedIn data across four pillars: employee growth; jobseeker interest; member engagement with the company and its employees; and how well these startups pulled talent from any global LinkedIn Top Company. In order to be eligible, companies must be 7 years old or younger, be privately held and headquartered in the country for which it is considered (you can learn more about our methodology at the bottom of this article).

Of course, joining a startup can be a venture bet in and of itself. This list is meant to be a resource for you. If you feel like a startup is the right fit for your next opportunity, take a look at who you may know at each company, see what jobs are currently open or dig into a LinkedIn Learning course on one of the top skills among employees.

Below you will find this year’s number one startup in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Click on the country name to check out the full Top Startups list for each market — and join the conversation using #LinkedInTopStartups.

You can also view the Top Startups in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UAE, and the US.

???? AUSTRIA

Full-time headcount: 600 | Headquarters: Vienna | Year founded: 2014 | Most common skills: SQL, Python, Data Analysis | Most common job titles: Business Intelligence Specialist, Product owner, Development Specialist | What you should know: This Vienna-based fintech enables investments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, but also in precious metals, equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Just recently, the startup raised $263 million in capital, reaching a valuation of more than four billion dollars. The money came from Valar Ventures, among others, a venture firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel (who invested early in PayPal and Facebook, among others). Bitpanda wants to use the money to drive its international expansion.

See jobs at Bitpanda | See people you may know at Bitpanda

Check out the full Top Startups list for Austria (in German)

???? BELGIUM

Full-time headcount: 53* | Headquarters: Brussels | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Logistics Management, Google Analytics, Tableau | Most common job titles: Order Processor, Communication Specialist, Logistics Worker | What you should know: Kazidomi is an online shop where you can buy food and other products that are healthy, sustainable and organic. The company currently delivers its products directly to people’s homes in Belgium and France.

See jobs at Kazidomi | See people you may know at Kazidomi

Check out the full Top Startups list for Belgium (in French and in Dutch)

???? FRANCE

Full-time headcount: 400 | Headquarters: Paris | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Programming Language (Python, JavaScript, SQL), Digital Marketing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | Most common job titles: Software Engineer, Account Executive, Sales Specialist | What you should know: Alan offers 100% online health insurance. Last April, the company entered the “unicorn” club of startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more.

See jobs at Alan | See people you may know at Alan

Check out the full Top Startups list for France (in French)

???? GERMANY

Full-time headcount: 10,000 | Headquarters: Berlin | Year founded: 2020 | Most common skills: Adobe Photoshop, Data Analysis, Social Media Marketing | Most common job titles: Warehouse Manager, Expansion Manager, Picker | What you should know: As a fast delivery service, Gorillas delivers groceries and other everyday products to customers’ doorsteps. The company is growing rapidly: less than a year after its founding in 2020, Gorillas is a "unicorn," meaning it is valued at more than one billion euros. At the same time, its challenges are growing: the competition is catching up, financing is faltering, and employees are demanding concessions.

See jobs at Gorillas | See people you may know at Gorillas

Check out the full Top Startups list for Germany (in German)

???? IRELAND

Full-time headcount: 31 | Headquarters: Dublin | Year founded: 2018 | Most common skills:?Java, SQL, Software development?| Most common job titles:?Mechanical technician, Robotics engineer, Software engineer?| What you should know: Manna has been trialling drone delivery in Oranmore, Galway for the past year, striking deals with Tesco and Just Eat to bring groceries and takeaways to consumers. The company got the go-ahead in May to enter the European market after securing $25 million in funding.

See more about Manna | See people you may know at Manna

Check out the full Top Startups list for Ireland (in English)

???? ITALY

Full-time headcount: 46 | Headquarters: Milan | Year founded: 2020 | Most common skills: Banking, Risk Management, Business Plan | Most common job titles: Data Scientist, Business Banker, Relationship Banker | What you should know: AideXa is a fintech company, founded by Roberto Nicastro and Federico Sforza, which obtained its banking license in June 2021. The finance start-up caters exclusively to small businesses and Italian freelancers.

See jobs at Banca AideXa | See people you may know at Banca AideXa

Check out the full Top Startups list for Italy (in Italian)

???? NETHERLANDS

Full-time headcount: 1,695 | Headquarters: Amsterdam | Year founded: 2015 | Most common skills: Python, Java, SQL | Most common job titles: System Architect, Domain Expert, Mechanical Engineer | What you should know: Ordering groceries via apps has become extremely popular during the coronavirus crisis, and online supermarket Picnic is reaping the benefits. The company's turnover doubled to 500 million euros in 2020. Currently, two distribution centres are being built in Utrecht and Ridderkerk.

See jobs at Picnic | See people you may know at Picnic

Check out the full Top Startups list for the Netherlands (in Dutch)

???? SPAIN

Full-time headcount: 75 | Headquarters: Barcelona | Year founded: 2017 | Most common skills: Digital Marketing, Business Management, Market Research. | Most common job titles: Business Development Specialist, Marketing Director, Commercial Director | What you should know: this startup makes 100% plant-based meat and has raised 16 million euros in its latest round of funding. Its CEO, Marc Coloma, envisions a meat-free world where animals will no longer be part of the supply chain after 2050, both for environmental and health reasons.

See jobs at Heura Foods | See people you may know at Heura Foods

Check out the full Top Startups list for Spain (in Spanish)

???? SWEDEN

Full-time headcount: 2,000 | Headquarters: Stockholm | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Python, Data Analysis, Java | Most common job titles: Software Engineer, Customer Representative, Investor | What you should know: Northvolt develops batteries for electric vehicles. It has secured more than SEK 50 billion in financing for large-scale production of the “world’s greenest” lithium-ion batteries in Europe. Production is scheduled to begin later this year.

See jobs at Northvolt | See people you may know at Northvolt

Check out the full Top Startups list for Sweden (in Swedish)

???? SWITZERLAND

Full-time headcount: 50 | Headquarters: Lenzburg | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: E-commerce, Fashion, Digital Marketing | Most common job titles: Content Specialist, Human Resources Manager, Apparel Buyer | What you should know: Lenzburg-based fashion label Nikin is committed to sustainability and fair trade in clothing. The founders promise to plant a tree for every product sold. 1.1 million trees have already been planted since the end of 2016 — and over the course of 2021, Nikin is aiming for its two millionth tree. Because the founders know the importance of social media marketing and storytelling, they recently hired their first full-time TikTok creator.

See more about Nikin | See people you may know at Nikin

Check out the full Top Startups list for Switzerland (in French and in German)

???? UK

Full-time headcount: 1,800 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2015 | Most common skills: Data Analysis, Analytical Skills, Python | Most common job titles: Financial Professional, Customer Operations Specialist, Back End Developer | What you should know: Though Monzo is still loss-making and has faced some bumps in recent months, the digital bank has raised ￡175 million in funding since Covid-19 struck and has around 5 million customers.

See jobs at Monzo | See people you may know at Monzo

Check out the full Top Startups list for the UK (in English)

Share the full list and your thoughts on this year's Top Startups using #LinkedInTopStartups.

Methodology

LinkedIn measures startups based on four pillars: employment growth, engagement, job interest and attraction of top talent. Employment growth is measured as percentage headcount increase over methodology time frame, which must be a minimum of 15%. Engagement looks at non-employee views and follows of the company’s LinkedIn page, as well as how many non-employees are viewing employees at that startup. Job interest counts rate at which people are viewing and applying to jobs at the company, including both paid and unpaid postings. Attraction of top talent measures how many employees the startup has recruited away from any global LinkedIn Top Company, as a percentage of the startup’s total workforce. Data is normalised across all eligible startups. The methodology time frame is 1 July 2020 through 30 June 2021.?

To be eligible, companies must be fully independent, privately held, have 30 or more full-time employees, be 7 years old or younger and be headquartered in the country on whose list they appear. We exclude all staffing firms, think tanks, venture capital firms, law firms, management and IT consulting firms, non-profits and philanthropy, accelerators and government-owned entities. Startups which have laid off 20% or more of their workforce within the methodology time frame are also ineligible.?

About company insights

*Company insights were sourced from LinkedIn Talent Insights. Data reflects aggregated public member data from active LinkedIn profiles in the relevant country and includes full-time employee profiles associated with the company on LinkedIn. We exclude members who identify as part-time or contractors. Headcounts are provided by the companies directly, unless otherwise noted with an asterisk. Those headcounts are based on LinkedIn data. The insights reflect data as of August 2021.

Reported by: Pieter Cranenbroek, Marie Malzac, Arnoud van der Struijk, Ben Hartlmaier, Liza Jansen, Michele Pierri, Samuel Chalom, Siobhan Morrin, Virginia Collera, Jakob Schulz, Tiffany Blandin, Marina Valero, Matthias Bergleiter, Mehdi Ramdani, Marco Valsecchi ; Editor: Marie Malzac; Editor in chief: Sandrine Chauvin.